Ruth O'Brien

SIOUX CITY -- Ruth O'Brien, 82, of Sioux City passed away Monday, Nov. 14, 2011, at a Sioux City hospital. Services will be 10:30 a.m. Friday, Nov. 18, 2011 at Blessed Sacrament Catholic Church, with the Rev. Merlin Schrad officiating. Burial will be in Calvary Cemetery. Visitation will be 4 to 8 p.m. Thursday, with the family present 5 to 8 p.m. and a vigil service at 7 p.m., at Meyer Brothers Colonial Chapel. Condolences may be sent online to www.meyerbroschapels.com. Ruth was born May 14, 1929, in Ponca, Neb., the daughter of James and Ruby (Klepper) Mahon. She graduated from Cathedral High School in 1947. She married Donald E. O'Brien on April 15, 1950, at the Cathedral of the Epiphany Catholic Church in Sioux City. She worked a few years at Northwestern Bell and was a homemaker after the children were born. She was a longtime member of Blessed Sacrament Catholic Church. She enjoyed playing bridge and golfing in the Sun Valley Golf League and at the Sioux City Country Club. She was a loving wife, mother, grandmother and sister. Ruth spent many hours quietly helping many people she knew and several she didn't know in their time of need. Survivors include her husband, Donald O'Brien of Sioux City; four children, Teresa O'Brien and her husband, Matt Blair of Sioux City, Brien O'Brien and his wife, Mary of Sioux City, John O'Brien of Sioux City, and Shiuvaun Hebert and her husband, Jonathon of Damascus, Ark.; 10 grandchildren, Bridget O'Brien Blair, Ryan Blair and his wife, Vanessa, Dan O'Brien, Tim O'Brien, Kennedy O'Brien, Irelinn O'Brien, Amberly Rothrock, Aubrey Rothrock, Alex Rothrock and his wife, Carrie Jo, and Annabelle Rothrock; and four great-grandchildren, Calvin and Carter Blair, Skylar Bergin and Aiden Rothrock; her brother, Robert Mahon and his wife June of Sioux City. She was preceded in death by her parents, James and Ruby Mahon; a grandson, Shawn Blair; brothers, Jim Mahon and his wife, Florence, Eugene Mahon and his wife, Mary Ann, and Darrell Mahon; and sisters, Charlotte Calvert and her husband, Lyle, and Shirly Guerry and her husband, Eddie. Pallbearers will be John O'Brien, Dan O'Brien, Tim O'Brien, Kennedy O'Brien, Alex Rothrock, and Ryan Blair. Honorary pallbearers will be Amberly Rothrock, Aubrey Rothrock, Bridget O'Brien Blair, and Irelinn O'Brien. Memorials may be made in her name to Bishop Heelan Catholic Schools.